My appreciation for Ender dropped off in the second book. I think it’s difficult to change the overall tone of a series in the middle. Ender changed, but the nature of the stories changed even more. Ender’s Game was one of those concept stories that you really can’t follow up, even if you’re OSC. Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion have a similar problem, because the former is in a unique Canterbury-Tales style and the latter isn’t. (I haven’t read the other two.)

I think series work best when you’re writing the same general kind of story each time. Of course it’s hard to resist the temptation to rake in the dough by writing sequels to a surprise hit like Ender’s Game - I wish I had such problems. As it is, I wouldn’t recommend holding your breath for my original fic.

I never understood why he thought that the character needed to be the same. He certainly tied them together well - the Bug Queen takes on an important role in this triology. But Ender as an adult character didn’t work for me. Perhaps it was the lack of dimension in Ender’s character in Ender’s Game. He was a child who had the mentality that he would do his uttermost to stop any bully from attacking him again which led him to kill - the first time unintentionally, the second time I suspect that Ender knew it was “kill or be killed”. Then, as the adult Ender, he’s not at all that kind of ruthless, quite the opposite. Ender’s Game tells us that Ender isn’t that way anymore and tells us that he wrote books that are treasured as religious writings - but we never see the development of that boy into that man, hence I found it unbelievable to tie the books together. Mentally, I kept them entirely separate.

Yes, I liked all four of the books.

I look forward to reading your original fic. I’ve always enjoyed your fanfic, you have a style that charms me.

Kim